Letters|1 June 1995

Megestrol for AIDS-Related Anorexia

Von Roenn and colleagues' provocative study [1] examined the effects of megestrol acetate in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Perhaps the most important clinical observation was that increased body weight correlated strongly with improved patient perceptions of well-being. The most striking research finding, however, was not discussed, namely, that the distribution of weight gains was identical to the distribution of psychological gains. Although we would like to believe that this finding is due to the harmonious marriage of mind and body among study patients, we suspect it may simply represent a layout error.